NEVER GIVE UP!

(Thanks to John Bloom from whom some of the material in this blog was taken)

Sir Winston Churchill the great Prime Minister of Great Britain returned to Eton on October 29, 1941, the scene of his childhood education. By the time Churchill returned to Eton, his fame as a speaker was already well known to every British schoolboy. The moment was at hand to hear the great man display his oratory. The assembly was hushed as Churchill approached the podium. He grasped the lectern and thrust out his chin in bulldog ferocity and said, "Never give up, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give up except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, never, never give up. “Then he sat down. With one sentence he electrified his audience. One wonders how many times in how many young men's secret thoughts those words came back in a moment of crisis, a moment when the fearful totter between fight or flight.

Never give up! This is a message echoed again and a gain in the word of God. I have a goal, and it is not hidden. I long to endure to the end for the glory of Christ, and I want to help others do the same. Some days this past year, I have felt so weak, emotionally fragile, tired, and ready to give up. but I believe with all my heart that God has ordained and it is His plan for God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated saints who will endure to the end. I feel the earnest longing that you and I will stay true to Jesus throughout our whole life.

One of the great themes of the Bible could be summed up in the words "You have need of endurance" (Hebrews 10:36).' John puts it this way, "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints" (Revelation 14:12). It is not a small consideration, since Jesus said, "The one who endures to the end will be saved' (Matthew 24:13). Notice that our Lord says, “To the end." The whole idea is finishing the course. You can run for five or ten or fifteen miles in a marathon; but if you don’t run the full twenty six miles and 385 yards, you didn’t finish the course. The race must be run to the end.

But we all long for rest and refreshment. That’s a God-given longing that he promises to fulfill: “I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish” (Jeremiah 31:25). And in a very real way Jesus gives rest to “all who labor and are heavy laden” and come to him (Matthew 11:28). But in this age, it is not the complete rest.

We are blessed that in this age, Jesus grants us the gospel rest of ceasing the impossible labor of attempting to save ourselves from our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21) or to earn his love and approval (Romans 8:31-39). But when are saved we also find ourselves also drafted into a war, called "the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). It is a lifetime war to keep believing the gospel and a war to spread it to others. In this age we “strive to enter that [complete] rest” of the age to come (Hebrews 4:11).

And wars are exhausting, especially long ones aren't they?. That’s why you are often tired, weary, burnt out, and feel like giving up. Those who have ever fought in a real war and have experienced the fierceness of combat want to get out of it. We want relief, green pastures, idyllic still, calm waters. That’s why you feel urges to escape or surrender or quit. That’s why there are times you’re so tempted to give up.

Paul said, “If we endure, we will also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12)… But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Tim 4:5). Paul wrote this to Timothy at the end of his life. To inspire this call to endure, he mentions his own endurance to the end and how he measured his life. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:6-8) The criterion of Paul’s life was that he endured fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith.

Repeatedly we are commanded to "stand" in the face of opposition that would knock us down or lure us to fall down or bow down. "Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:13). "Stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved" (Philippians 4:1). "Brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us" (2 Thessalonians 2:15) (God will) present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard (Colossians 1:22-23)

We are admonished, "Do not grow weary in doing well" (2 Thessalonians 3:13). "Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed" (2 Timothy 3:14). "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering" (Hebrews 10:23). "Hold fast what you have until I come" (Revelation 2:25). A blessing is pronounced on those who endure under trial. "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him" (James 1:12).

NEVER GIVE UP...

No, rather “take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when that familiar sin, still crouching at your door after all these years, pounces again and again with temptation.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when you feel that deep soul weariness from long battles with persistent weaknesses.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:8–9).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when your long prayed-for prayers have not yet been answered.

And he told them [the parable of the persistent widow] to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when the devil’s fiery darts of doubt land and make you reel.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day…in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:13,16).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when the fragmenting effect of multiple pressures seems relentless.

But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger . . . (2 Corinthians 6:4–5).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when the field the Lord has assigned you to is hard and the harvest does not look promising:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

NEVER GIVE UP...

when you labor in obscurity and you wonder how much it even matters.

Your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:4).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when your reputation is damaged because you are trying to be faithful to Jesus.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account (Matthew 5:11).

NEVER GIVE UP...

when waiting on God seems endless.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30–31)

NEVER GIVE UP...

when you have failed in sin. Don’t wallow. Repent (again), get your eyes off yourself and back on Jesus, get up and get back in the fight and keep on running with Jesus..

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9); if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

Jesus knows you you and your works (Revelation 2:2) and he understands the war (Hebrews 12:3).

So...

“Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12).
Finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7).
“By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Luke 21:19).

A poet once said, “When the pathway seems long, when temptation is strong, when your strength’s almost gone-That’s the time to press on.” Dear readers, we must press on. Never, never, never give up. You can endure, because God has given us all the grace we need to persevere. You will endure, because God has promised that you will. (2 Timothy 1: 12)

An English pastor who lived from (1759-1836) named Charles Simeon. He was the pastor of Trinity Church in Cambridge England for 54 years. When he was first appointed to pastor, the congregation didn’t want him, they wanted this other man. But the bishops said there was no way this other man would be Pastor so they stood behind Simeon. As a result, first, the leaders of the congregation at Trinity refused to let him preach the Sunday afternoon service; instead they hired the assistant they originally wanted to preach it. This took place for five years. Then when he left they hired another independent man for seven more years! Finally, twelve years after becoming Pastor, they let him preach the Sunday afternoon service. During this time he attempted a later Sunday night service and masses flocked to hear him preach. But some of the leaders of the church locked the doors while people stood outside waiting on the street. Simeon had the locks removed and the leaders went right back and had new ones put on. But there is more, the church locked the pew doors on Sunday mornings. The pew-holders refused to come and refused to let others sit in their personal pews. So Simeon set up seats in the aisles, nooks, and corners at his own expense. But the leadership took them out and threw them into the churchyard. This went on for at least ten years and people kept coming standing where they could. There is so much more I could tell you of tremendous persecution, prejudice, criticism, slander, false rumors, in Cambridge from students, fellow professors, and fellow clergymen; and 13 years of failing health from the age of 47 till he was 60. Yet he never quit and kept on preaching until two months before his death at 77. When he was 71 he was asked by his good friend how he handled and outlasted it in his many years of ministry. He said: “My dear brother, we must not mind a little suffering for Christ’s sake.” Charles Simeon never quit! He endured and persevered! He never gave up.

Neither must you dear reader. NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!!

Pastor Bill